Vending machine



Nov. 1, 1932. s. M. COFFMAN 1,335,393

VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 20, 1950 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 1, 1932.

S. M. COFFMAN VENDING MACHINE m8 24 I18 m2 ,25 /20 2 2/2 /92 fig -4.

Wl'ine as:

Nov.1,1932. MC FFQ 1,885,898

VENDING MACHINE- Filed Jan. 20, 1930 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 62 [I Q- E. 50

j /0 /72 awvemto'a,

Wiiness." 8 z 70? Samuel M. CofiWzm Nov. 1, EQEZ s. M. COFFMAN 1,885,898

VENDING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 20, 1330 4 -wuewi'oz: SamuelM. Gofinan,

after." us

NOV. 1, 1932. 5 CQFFMAN 1,885,898

VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 20, 1930 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 i liz'inews attain;

Nov. 1, 1988- M, CQFFM N 1,885,888

VENDING MACHINE Filed Jan. 20, 1930 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 El Q15.

i i a! E. Q I' i 22 232 SamueZ M. Caffirzan, 246

88M. 5 M, m Jag-ram Elliot/M19 the machine.

Patented Nov. 1, 1932 warren s'ra res memoFFicE SAMUEL LM.COFF1 VIAN,'OF KANSAS CITY, Mrssonnn AssIenoR, BY MnsNE ASSIGNMENTS, .ronarronanros'raen nacnrnns 00. turn, or name, NEVADA, A CORPORATION or HY-Am .jvEivniNe MACHINE Application filed January20, 1930. Serial No.422,042

' My invention relates to vending machines,

and more particularly to a machine for vendlng articles whlch must besevered from a stripcomprising a series of such articles at tached oneto the other, such as stamps, tickets and the like. V A further objectof the invention is to provide a feeding mechanism capable of discharging difierent numbers of articles upon each operation thereof; andfurther to provide'coin' controlled means for determining the amount ofmovement to be imparted to said feeding-mechanism.

Another object is toprovide a machineof this character wherein stamps ofdifiere'nt denominations may be discharged from themachine and anypredetermined number will be delivered to the purchaser when acoin ofproper value isdeposited in the machine.

A' further object of theinvention is the provision of means forautomatically severing the strip or strips after the stamp or stampshave been fed from the machine, so

that it will be impossible for any one to obtain more stamps than werepaid for.

A further object is to provide an adjustable trip mechanism whereby thenumber of stamps to be delivered for any particular coin can bereadilychanged by an authorized person having access to the workingparts of In the:accompanying drawings Ihave illustrated one embodimentof my invention applied to a machine for vending stamps, tickets orother articles which are attached one to the other intheform of strips.It will be understood, however," that this par ticular embodiment ofthe'invention has been chosen for the purpose of illustration only andthat the mechanism may take various forms without departing from thespirit of the invention, The invention is not limited to a device forvending articles which-come in strips, but may be embodied, either inWhole or in part, in a device for vending articles of various kinds,either attached or separated. The invention, in the present in stance,isarranged fo'rthe use of coins to determine'the number of stamps orarticles to be discharged,-but checks or other similar devices maybeused, so it'is to be understood that the words stamp and coin are usedas terms of'definition only and not as terms oflimitation. 7v Referringmore particularly to the draw- Fig. 1 is a front'elevation of themachine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine.

Fig.8. is a broken plan view of the ma chine with some of the parts insection.

a rotary trip mechanism disassembled.

Fig. 5' is a longitudinal section of'a portion of the rotary tripmechanism assembled. i F ig. 6 is a detail perspective-view of one of aplurality of dogs adapted to be actuated hy the rotary trip mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a broken vertical section of-the feed mechanism on line 7'7 ofFig.9.

ig. 8 is a broken, irregular section of the upper-portion er themechanism on line 88 Fig.3, with the various parts in normal hosition. Tl V Fig; 9 is a broken section'of the upper por- .tion oi'the machine online 9'.9-0f Fig. 3, with the parts in normal position;

Fig. 10 is: a broken side elevation, partly in section, showing some ofthe parts in an advanced position over .that disclosed by Figs. Sand .9.

Fig. 11 is a view similar to F ig. 10, with some of the parts stillfurther advanced.

Fig; 12is a broken sectional view with some ofthe parts in an advancedposition over that disclosed byiFigzll.

IFig. 13 isa broken section similar to Fig. 12 with some of the partsstill'further ad vanced over that disclosed by Fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is a broken detail side elevation, partly in section, of aportion of the strip guiding and feeding mechanisms in a reverseposition to that disclosed by igs 3, and 8 to13,inclusive, and showingthe operation of some of the parts in both full and dotted lines.

" 15 is a plan view of the parts dis- 'Fig.'17 is: a detail perspectivevicwof an and turned in the same direction 60 c Fig. dis a detailperspective ofaportion of i oscillatory yoke with some of the partscarried thereby and turned in a reverse direction to that disclosed byFigs. 3, and 8 to 11, inclusive.

Fig. 18 is a detailperspective view of a plurality of plungers and meansfor raising and lowering the same. 7 T

Fig. 19 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a train of gearsturned in'a reverse direction .to that disclo'sedby Figs. 2' and 3.

Fig. is a. fragmentary section on line 2020 of Fig. 19.

Fig. 21 is a broken, irregular section on line 21-21 of Fig. 1, showinga coin carrier and associate parts turned in a reverse direction to thatdisclosed'by Figs.2 and 3.

Fig. 22' is a broken vertical section on line 22.22 of Fig. 1, andturned in the same direction'as Fig. 21.

i Fig. 23 is a side elevation, partly in section showing the-coincarrier in an advanced position over that disclosed by Fig. 21.

Fig. 24 is a detail perspective view of a coin ejector operably mountedon the coin carrier. 4 In the particular form of the inventionillustrated. .by the drawings the operating parts arefcarried on aframe, consisting in the presentinstance of a pairof standards 2, a pairof sills 4 upon which said standards 2 are fixedly mounted, a transversemember 6 uniting the upper ends of the standards 2, a pair of brackets 8rigidly secured to the rear portions of the standards 2 intermediate theends of the latter, and a guide plate 10 fixedly mounted upon saidbrackets 8.

Where the machine is designed for postage stamps or other articlesconnected in strips as shown in the present instance,said strips,designated A. and B, are arranged in the form of rolls removablysupported upon stub shafts 12 and 14 projecting laterally from arms 16and 18, respectively, rockably mounted at their lower endsupon a shaft20, so that either arm may be swung backwardly to the dotted lineposition, Figs. 2 and 3, and permit ready placement of the rolls uponthe respective shafts. r V

After the shafts 12 and 14 have been sup plied with rolls the upper endsof thearms 16 and 18are swung forwardly against the rear side of theguide plate 10 and when the latter: position the roll. Ais held from.

lateral displacement by. anarm 22 while the roll B is held from lateraldisplacement by the arm 16. The arm 22," like the arms 16 and 18,is'rock ably mounted upon the shaft 3 20 which is secured in the rearportions of the sills 4. Sleeves 24 are mounted upon the shaft 20 andinterposed between the arms 16, 18 and 22 for retaining said arms inspaced relation to each other. V

- The free ends of the strips A and B are manually threaded throughhorizontally-disposed slots 26 and 26a; (Figs. 10,to 13, inclusive, andFig. 9, respectively), formed between the guide plate 10 and a pair ofguide 7 plates 30 and 30a. Said guide plates 30 and 30a are arrangedside by side upon the guide plate 10 to which they are suitably secured.After being threaded through the guide slots 26 and 26a the strips A andB are advanced between feed rollers hereinafter described and through aslotted guide bar 11 until their forward edges are flush with the upperedge of astationary blade 34 which is secured to the front portions ofthe standards 2. After having their forward edges adjusted flush withthe blade 34the strips A and B are held from accidental movement by aplurality of pins 36, and 36a, which pass down through the front rowsf-perforations C and C in the respective strips.

The pins 36 and 36a are operably mounted side byside in movable heads40and 40a and extend rearwardly at their upper portions where they areformed into coils 44 and 44a, whichtend to force the pins downwardly'througlrthe perforations C and C, re-

thereto to distinguish saidsecond set from the first set. The head 40 isfixedly mounted upon the forward end of a rod 48 (as best shown byFigs.'10 to 13, inclusive), secured at its rear portion in a rockablemember 50 mounted upon the rear end of the guide plate 30 and normallyheld against shoulders 54 on'said guide plate by means of a retractilespring 56.

Manual means for ra1s1ng the pins 36 out of the guide slot 26 in orderto permit the strip A to be threaded through said slot is had in theform of a lever 60 (best shown by Fig. 14) provided at its upper endwith a knob 62 andpivotally connected at its lower end to the guideplate 30. The lever 60 is provided at its lower'rear portion with afinger 66 which engages the under portion of the rod 48 for lifting thesame when said lever 60 is pushed forwardly. The lever 60 is alsoprovided with a finger 67 for actuat inga carriage761 having a feedroller 63 whichv coacts with a long feed roller 69 on a shaft 70 inautomatically advancing the strip A. -By thus providing the lever 60with thefingers 66 and 67 it simultaneously effects the lifting of thepins 36 and the feed roller 63 out of the way as shown'by dotted lines,Fig. 14, so that the strip A can be read- 36 from the guide slot 26 isprovided in the form of levers 68 and 71 operably mounted at their lowerends upon the guide plate 30.

Said levers 68 and 71 are provided at their lower ends with fingers 72and 73 (Fig. 15)

which engage the under portion of a pin extending transversely throughthe rod 48 for lifting the latter to the dotted line position(lfiigr14') when said levers are swung towards the rearof the machine;The lever 68 may be swung rearwardly by a plunger 76 or a plunger 77,while the lever 71may- V be swun rearwardl' b a lun er 79. The

plungers 7 6, 'TTand 79 (best shown by Figs. 1, 8 and'l8) are securedupon a rock-shaft 78 mounted in a yoke 80 which is rockably 5, ing thepivotal movement of said abutment 88. A retractile spring 100 isattached to mounted at its lower ends upon the shaft 70., The yoke 80 isheld in normal position against abar 146 by means of a coil spring 84.

e The yoke 80 is swung towards the rear of the machine by means of anabutment '88 (best shown by Figs. 10, 11 and 17) pivotally mounted upona bracket 92 fixed to one side of said yoke 80 and equipped with afixedly mounted stop 94 having upper and lower shoulders 96 and 98,respectively, for'limit the bracket 92 and the abutment 88 for pullingthe enlarged end 102 of said abutment down into the path of a wrist pin104 (Fig. when the opposite end of'said abutment is freed, as willhereinafter appear.

The abutment 88 is normally held against the shoulder96 and out of thepath ofthe wrist pin 104 by means of a coin-controlled 1 arm 106 (Figs.2, 8,10 and 11) pivotally secured at one end to the adjacent standard 2and bent at its other endwhich has a hole 110 through which the freeendof a rod 112 slidably" extends, the opposite end of said rod beingsecured to the rock-shaft 78 for actuating the latter The free end ofthe arm 106 is normally held in lowered posi tion by a coil spring 114attached at one end to said arm and at its opposite end to one of a pairof brackets 116 projecting rearwardly from the standards 2 of the frame.

The arm 106 is'provided with a roller 118 which is normally held inengagement with the periphery of a rotary coin carrier 120 by means ofthe spring 114. The coin carrier 120 consists preferably of a disk, asshown, and is provided witha peripheral pocket 122 (Figs. 21 and 23) forof different denominations, a coin D being shown in said pocket. Thecoin D is carthe reception of coins V ried under the roller 118 thelatter and the arm 106; The height to which the arm 106 is raiseddepends upon the denomination of the coin. If the coin is a one-centpiece, it will raise the arm 106to the position disclosed byv Fig. 10,at which .point' a lug 124 at the free end of said arm enters theintermediate notch 126 of a latch 128, which is yieldably'held inengagement with said lug 124 by means of a retractile spring 130. s Y

As the free end of the arm 106 moves upwardly it releases theunderlyingend of the abutment 88 and permits the spring 100 to pull said abutmentdown into engagement with the shoulder 98 of the stop 94. This carriesthe end 102 of the abutment into the path of the wrist pin 104 as shownby-Fig. 10. When the wrist pin 104 engages the abutment 88 it actuatesthe latter and-causes it to swing the yoke 'rearwardly with the plungers76, 77 and 79, and other plungers 77a and 7 also mounted upon the rockshaft 78. As said plungers move rearwardly the pointed free end of theplunger 76, which is held at the proper pitch as the coinD' passes underthe roller 118, enters the socket 134 (Fig. 11 of a lateral extension136 pro- ]ecting from one side of the lever 68 and rocks the latter,thereby causing the finger 72 to lift the pins 36 out of the initial rowof perforations G in the strip A through the and the head 40,

intermediary of the rod 48 which are raised against the action of thespring 56. l

As the lever 68 is actuated, as stated, it pulls a dog 138, pivotallyconnected to said lever, backwardly against'the action of a retractilespring 140. The forward endof the dog 138 is supported by the transversebar l46iwhich is secured to the standards 2 and provided with verticalslots 148in which the dog 138 and otherlike dogs 139, 138a and 139a areslidably mounted. The dogs 139, 138a: and 139a are yieldably held innormal position by springs141, 140a and'14la, respectively. The dog 138is provided at its forward portionwith a recess 150 located betweenshoulders 152 and 154, which are spaced apart a distance slightlygreater than thejwidth ofthe bar 146. When the dog138 is actuated by'thelever 68 the shoulder 152, which normally rests in the bottom of therespective slot 148, will be drawn downwardly 68 in the positiondisclosed by Fig. 12 before the plunger 7 6 is restored to normalposition.

By locking the lever 68 as stated the pins 36 will be held out ofengagement with the strip A long enough toinsure the delivery of astamp.

and thereby lifts As the shoulder 1520f the dog 138 moves 7downwardly'into engagement with the rear side of the bar 146, as stated,it depresses the arm 156 of abell-crank158 pivotallymounted on the rearside of said bar 1&6 andproe vided With a depending latch 160 which isthereby swung out of engagement with a lower arm 162 of the carriage 61.After the 69"coact in advancing the strip A.

Soon after the feed rollers 63 and 69. start to advance the strip A therear end of the dog 138 is depressed by rotary trip means 17 1, therebyraising the shoulder 152 above the bottom of the slot 148 and allowingthe dog 138 to be restored to normal position by the spring 1 10. As thedog 138 returns to'normal position it pulls the lever 68. therewithwhich inturn permits the spring 56 to restore the rockable member 50,therod as: and the head 10 to their normal positions. As the headdOmovesdownwardly to normal posi-' tion it lowers the pins 36 upon theadvancing strip A, as shown by Fig. 13, sothat said pins 36' will beinposition to enter the second row of perforations G and therebycheckfurv ther forward movement of said strip A after the same has beenadvanced; the'width .of one stamp. 1

Shortly after the pins 36 ,checkithe for: ward movement ofthe strip A awrist pin 176 engages the under side of an upper arm 178 onthe forwardportion of said carriage and lifts the latter until the lower carriagearm 162 is carried above the latch 160 which is then immediately swungbeneath said arm 162 by a retractile spring 180 and supports the forwardend of the carriagein raised position after the-wris'tpin 17 6 movesfrom beneath the carriagearm 178. As. the carriage 61 is lifted itcarries the feed roll-63 above the strip A so-that the adhesive underside of said strip can not adhere to the roller 69 during damp "weather.The wrist pins 104 and 176 project laterally from disks 182 and 18 1,respectively, fixedly mounted upon a shaft 186 (best shown by Fig.7)which extends through arcuate slots 187 of the yoke 80 and is journaledin the standards 2. The shaft 186 is provided at one end with the coincarrier 120 and intermediate said ends with a fixedly mounted disk 184 ahaving a wrist pin 176a for lifting the forward portion of the carriage614: above the associated latch 1600.. p i

V The rotary trip means 174' consists of a drum 188 and a pairfof'disks190 and 192.

Said disks 190 and 192 are arranged at opposite ends of the drum 188which is fixedly mounted upon a driven shaft .194 journaled in therearends of thebrackets 116. The

drum 188 is provided at itsends with studs 196 and198, the formerofwhich is adapted to enter any one of a seriesof holes 200 in the disk190 for driving the latter, while the s'tud 198 is adapted to enter-anyone of a serie'sof holes 202 in'thedisk 192 (Figs. 4 and 5) for causingthe lattertorotate withthe drum. The disks 190 and 192 are looselymounted upon the shaft'194l and yieldably held against the adjacent endsof the drum 188 by coil springs 204,- so that they may be disengagedfrom said drum and manually rotated to carry anyone of the holes 200 and202 opposite the studs 196 and 198, respeotively, for .coengagementtherewith.

The drum 188 is'provided with a row of peripheral index numerals 206,which in the present instance run from 1 to 5, inclusive,- to correspondwith the number of holes in each of the disks, 190 and 192. Said disks190 and 192 are provided with trip pins 208 and 212,

respectively, that project over the drum 188 and coact with saidindexnumerals. in being properly'positioned withrespect to the dogs 138and139 to effect, delivery of the'desired number of stamps from thestripjA, as will hereinafter more fully appear. The trip pin.208-isarranged to contact with the upper edge of a shoulder 21 1 on the rearportion of thedog 138 after the latter hasbeen carried by the lever v68to the position disclosed by Figs. 11 and 12, and depress said rear endthereby freeing the shoulder 152 at the forward portion of said dog fromen gagement wit-lithe rear surfaceof the bar. 146

so that said dog may; be returned to normal position by the spring 1 10as herinbefore mentioned.

, By constructing'the rotary trip means 17 4 as above described, it maybe set tocause any number of stamps'from one to five, inclusive, to bedelivered from the strip A on the insertion of a single coin in themachine. For instance, if it is desired ,to deliver but one stamp forone coin the disk 190 is adjusted to cause the trip in 7208 to registerwith the "index numerall on the drum 188. This operation places 'the'pin208 in position to trip'the dog 138 in time toallow the pins 36 to enterthe second row of'perforations C and check the forward movement of thestrip A when the foremost stamp is in position to be severed from saidstrip. If it is desired to deliver two stampsfor one coin the disk v190is adjusted backwardly until the trip pin 208 registers with the indexnumeral 2, which operation causes said trip pin to travel through agreater are and delay the tripping of the dog 138 andtheconsequentlowering ofthe pins 36 until two stamps have been fed intoposition to be severed. from said strip A.

Likewise three, four or five stamps may be delivered for a single c'olnby adjusting the feed roll shaft 70, a large gear wheel 222 intermeshingwith said small gear wheel 220 and fixedly mounted upon the shaft 186,and a large gear wheel 224 intermeshing with said *largegear wheel 222and fixedly mounted upon the shaft 194. The large gear wheel 224 isprovided at one side with a projection 226 and at its other side with acam 228 having a cavity 230 opposite; said projection 226.

Two rollers 232 and 234 aredisposed at opposite sides of the large gearwheel 224, the roller-232 being arranged. in the path of the projection226 in order to be moved in one .d'rection by the latter and carry theroller 2 4 into the cavity 230 for the purpose of rocking an oscillatoryshaft 236 in one-di root-ion. As the projection 226 passes out ofengagement with the roller 232 the cam 228 engages the roller 234 andmoves he latter with the roller 232 in the opposite direction to reversethe movement of the shaft 236. The rollers 232 and 234 are carried by abifurcated member 238 fixedly mounted upon the shaft 236, which latteris journaled in bearings 242 andprovided at its forward end with theblade 35 which coacts with the stationary blade 234 in severing thestamps from their respective strips A and B.

' The pinion 216 may be manually driven by a crank, or it can be drivenby a pulley 250 which in turn may be belted to an electric motor orother source of power, not shown.

Assuming that the strips Aand B consist of one and two cent stamps,respectively, the

, manner in which delivery of different numbers of said stamps may beeffected by coins of differentdenominations, such for instance, as apenny, a nickeland a dime, will now be described. First the pin208 isadjusted to register with the index numeral 1 on the drum 188, and thetrip pin 212 is adjusted to register with the index number 2 on saiddrum. The trip pin 268a is then adjusted to register with the indexnumeral 2 on the drum 188a, while the trip pin 212a is adjusted toregister with the index. numeral 4 on said drum 188a. The foregoingadjustments may be made without removing any of the parts from the shaft194, it only being necessary to slide the respective disks upon saidshaft against the action of the springs 204 in order to disengagesaid'disks from the respective studs on the drums 188 and 188a, so thatsaid disks may be turnedto carry the respective trip pins into registrywith the desired index numerals.

After the foregoing adjustments have been made a one-cent stamp may-bepurchased by inserting a penny in an upper coin chute 242 V whichdirects said penny into the peripheral groove 244 of the coin carrier120. As the.

coin carrier 120 rotates the pocket 122 there,

in is carried into positionto receive said coin which is thereby carriedaround and :discharged into a lower coin chute 246 which directs thecoin into a receptacle,*not shown, at the bottom of the machine. H;

Ordinarily the coin willzbe carried by this force of gravity from thepocket 122 into the from any cause, stick within the'pocket it will beforcibly expelled by the stud 248 on .an ejector 250. Said stud 248projects into which contacts a stationary element 254, as

shown infull lines, Fig. 22. Asthe ,cofn carrier 120 continues to rotateit carries the ejector against another stationary element 256, as shownby dotted lines, Fig. 22,"which restores said. ejector to normalposition.

It may sometimes happen'that the coin in descending through the chute242, will land upon the rear edge 243 of the pocket 122 as shown in fulllines, Fig. 21, and become locked between said rear edge and the lowerend of the chute 242, and thus possibly stop the machine or cause damagethereto unless some means is provided for the release of the coin. Suchmeans is shown in the presentinstance in the form of a gate 258 whichnormally closes a slot 260 in the lower rear portion of the chute 242.Said-gate 258 is provided at its lower portion with a groove 262 whichcoacts with the peripheral groove 244, in the coin carrier 120, insupporting the coin in upright position as the latter is carried by thecoin carrier .120 against the roller 118 (as shown bydotted lines, Fig.21) where the coin is held until the coin carrier rotates nearly one.

revolution and thereby brings the pocket 122 5 lower coin chute 246, butshould, said coin,

determined distance above the periphery of I the coin carrier 120, sothat when said coin is carried beneath the roller 118 it will raise thelatter. (Fig. 10), which in turn. lifts the arm 1.06 high enough for thelug 124 to enter.

the intermediate notch 126 of the, latch 128.

[is the arm 106 is lifted it, through the intermediary of the rod 112,rocks the shaft 78 which then lifts the plunger 7 6 into position tooperate the lever 68 when the yoke 80 is swung rearwardly to theposition shown by Fig. 11. The strip A is then advancedthe width of onestamp which issevered from said strip, as hereinbefore described.

v Ifitis desired toupurchase two two-cent stamps and a one-cent stamp anickel 1s deposited in the machine and itbeing of greater diameter thanthe pennyv will project-from the pocket 122 ton greater height and liftthe arm 106 highienoughfor the lug 124.'to

stamps are desired,

said pressure roller I latch means for directly engaging and hold- 7enough for the plungers 77 and 77a to actuate the levers 68 and 68a,respectively, as the yoke swings rearwardly. The levers 68 and 68a carrythe dogs 138 and 138ather-ewith and into the path of'the trip pins 208and 208a. The operation of I the lever 68 effects the delivery ofaone-cent stamp as when the penny was deposited, while the dog 138aholdsthe pins 36aout of contact with the strip B long enough to-insurethe delivcry of two two-cent stamps."

If two one-cent stamps and four two-cent a dime is deposited in themachine and being of less diameter than the penny it will only lift thearm 106 high enough for the lug 124; to enter the lowermost notch 126 ofthe latch 128. a This reduced movement of the arm 106 rocks the shaft 78through a shorter arc than before and causes it to lift the plungers 7 9and 79a in position to rock the levers 71 and 71a, rearwardly, so thatthe dogs 139 and 139a and the trip pins 212 and 212a will be broughtinto operation. The pins 86 and 36a will then be prevented by saidlevers 71 and 71a, respectively, from checking the forward movements ofthe strips A and B until two one-cent and four two-cent stamps have beenadvanced far enough by the feed rollers to insure delivery of saidstamps.

While I have shown the machine equipped with only two units for handlingtwo rolls of stamps, it is to be understood that additional units forhandling more rolls may be provided. Also the number of stampsdischarged for each coin may be varied if desired by pro-per adjustmentof the rotary trip mechanisms 17d and 174a to provide a profit on eachsale. lu urthermore, stamps and coins of other denominations than thosementioned maybe used by arranging the machine accordingly. I 7

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings,it will be understood that I have provided a vending machine which willpositively discharge the proper number of articles upon each operationthereof and is not likely to be damaged in sucli'manner as to render itinoperative.

" It is also to be understood that the mechanism may be enclosed in acase, but as the latter forms no part of the invention it has not beenshown in the drawings.

Having thus described my invention, what I'claim and desire to secure byLetters Patcut, is:

1. In a veneing machine, strip feeding means comprising a positivelydriven roller and a pressure roller, acarriage for moving towards its fcompanion,

ing said carriage in retracted position, spring means for yieldablyholding said latch means in active position, a -longitudinally -movablemember for disengaging said latch means fromthe carriage so that thepressure roller may cooperate with its companion in feeding the stripforwardly, a slotted ele ment fixedto the machine frame and'forming aguide for said latch disengaging member, coin controlled mechanism formoving said member to active position so that .it will effect release ofthe carriage from the latch means, a shoulder on said member forengaging the slotted element and holding the member in itsactiveposition, rotary trip means for engaging said: member to effectdisengagement'of said shoulder from the slotted element, spring meansfor restoring the latch disengaging member to it inactive position,

v and means for restoring the carriage to its retracted positlon.

2. In avending machine, strip feeding means comprising a positivelydriven roller and a pressure roller,=a carriage for moving said pressureroller towards its companion,

- latch means for holding said carriage 1n retracted position, a memberfor disengaging said latch means from the carriage so that the pressureroller may cooperate with its companion in feeding the strip forwardly,checking means for limiting the movement of the strip, coin controlledmeans-for actuating said checking means and moving the latch disengagingmember to active position to eifectrelease of the carriage from thelatch moans, means for holding said latch disengaging member in itsactive position, a trip pin for releasing said latch disengaging member,means for restoring said latch disengaging member to its inactiveposition i when thus released,'a manually adjustable disk carrying thetrip pin, a rotary shaft upon which'said disk 1s loosely mounted, a

drum fixedly mounted upon. said shaft and;

rovided with numerals coen a in means "whereby said drum rotates thedisk, said coengaging means beingdisengagable so the disk may bemanually rotated to carry the .trippin into the desired relation withany of the mimerals on the drum, and means for restoring the carriage toits retracted or inactive position.

3.:ln. a vending machine, supporting means for a strip ofarticles'having rows of perforations betweenrthem', feeding means foradvancing said strip, a plurality of pins for checking the strip by.entering the perferations of any row, a rockable support in which saidpins are yieldably mounted coin controlled means for actuating saidrockable supp rt, a stationary blade, a movable blade for cooperatingwith said stationary blade in severing. the strip at one ofthe rows ofperforations when said strip is checked, a bifurcatedmember includingtwo divergent arms for oscillating said movable blade, a

rotary member-extending between said arms and having a projection on oneside for rocking the bifurcated member in one and a cam on its oppositeside for said bifurcated member in the direction;

4. In a vending rocking opposite ing of the stamps through therespectiveguideways, a movable support for each set of pins, coincontrolled scans for selecting and actuating each of said pin supports,a stationary blade near exit of the guideways', a movable blade forcooperating with saidstationary blade in severing the stamps from theroll, ing two divergent arms ior oscillating l SillCi movable blade,anti-friction rollers mounted upon d .arms, and a rotary memberextending between said rollers and provided at-its pposite sides withcam faces for on gagement with the respective rollers.

5. In a vending machine, a positively driven feed roller, adapted tocoact with said positively driven roller in advancing a strip, carriagescarrying said plurality of feed rollers, latches for holding saidcarriages in retracted position, members for disengaging said latchesfrom the carriages, coin controlled means for moving saidinembers toactive position to effect release of the carriages from thelatches,means for holding said members in active position, trip pins forreleasing'said members so they may return to inactive position, manuallyadjustable devices carrying said trip pins, rotary elements, wherebysaid devices are driven by said rotary elements, said coengaging meansbeing disconnectableso that said devices may be adjusted forwardly orbackwardly independently ofsaid rotary elements to vary the timing ofthe releasing operation, and means coengaging means for reengaging thecarriages with the latches.

v controlled means for 6. In a vending machine, supporting means forstrips of articles separated by rows of perforations, groups of pinsadapted to enterany row of perforations in the respective strips tocheck the latter, rockable ports in which the respective groups of pinsare .yieldably mounted, levers to effect removal of the pins from theperforations, coin actuating said levers, and manually controlled leverswhereby the rockable supports may be adjusted to remove the pins fromthe perforations.

7. In a vending machine, strip feeding means, means for checking-f aplunger for moving said position and thereby causing it to adjust saidchecking means to inactive position,means for actuating said plungerincluding a pivoted device, coin controlled means for releasing lever toactive direction a bifurcated member includa plurality of. feed rollerssuphe strip, a lever,

stationary portion'of the machine, and means for releasing said member.

8. In a vending machine, strip feeding 7 means, means for checking thestrip, a lever to move said checking means to inactive position,suitably controlled means for cooperating with said lever'in holdingsaid checking means in inactive position until the strip has been fed apredetermined distance, a plunger for moving said lever to activeposition, an oscillatory member for actuating said plunger, an abutmentoperably connected to said oscillatorvmember for actuating the latter,rotary means for actuating said abutment, means foradjusting saidabutment into the path of said rotary means, spring retracting theoscillatory member rotary means passes out of engagement withthe'abutment, and coin controlled means for moving and holdingsaidabutmcntout ofthe path of therotary means. Y

9; Ina vending machine, means for feed ing a strip of articles separatedby rowsof perforations, checking means adapted to ent'er any row ofperforations and stopthe strip, an element for lifting said checkingmeans from the perforations to allow the strip to advance, suitablycontrolledmeans for cooperating with said element in holding thechecking means from the perforations until the strip has advanced apredetermined disafter said tance, a plunger for moving said'element toactive position, mechanism for reciprocating said plunger, coincontrolled means including a member for adjusting said plunger-to the prper degree for engagement with said element, and-latch meansfor'supporting said member in active position is advancing on saidelement. v i 10. In a vending machine, means for feeding a strip ofarticles separated by rows of perforations,checking means adapted toenter any row of perforationsand stop the strip, anelementfor removingsaid checking means from the perforations to allow the strip to advance,suitably controlled means for cooperating with saidelement in holdingthe checking means from the perforations until the strip has advanced adistance, means for severing the strip,'a plunger for moving saidelement to active position, mechanism for reciprocatingsaid plunger, acoin controlled member for adjusting saidplunger to the proper degreefor element, a carrier for, member, and latch engagement with said acoin to actuate said means for supporting said member inactiveposition-while the plunger is advancingon said element.

means for while the plunger predetermined 11. in a vending machine,means for feeding a strip of articles separated byrows of perforations,checking means adapted to enter any row of perforations and stop thestrip, an element for lifting said checking means from the perforationsto allow the strip to advance, oscillatory means including a plunger formoving said element to active position, a "rotary device for moving saidoscillatory means to active position, resilient means for restoring saidoscillatory means to inactive position, coin controlled means for,adjusting said oscillatory means out of the'path of said rotary means, alock member coacting with a fixed portion of the machine for holding thecheck lifting elementin active position after the oscillatory means hasreturned to inactive position, and means for releasing said lock memberso that the checking means may return to active position and stop thestrip after it has advanced a predetermined distance.

12. In a vending machine, means for supporting a plurality of strips ofstamps, means for advancing said strips, separate checking means foreach strip,levers for adjusting the respective checking means toinactive position, suitably controlled means for cooperating with saidlevers in holding the respective checking means in inactive positionsfor suitable periods of time, plungers for actuating the respectivelevers, mechanism for advancing said plungers, a rotary carrier providedwith a peripheral pocket for the reception of coins of differentdenominations, and a member arranged in the path of said coins andadapted to be adjusted thereby to different positions and in turn adjustthe plungers to different positions so that a coin of one denominationwill cause certain of the plungers toactuate their respective levers andcoins of other denominations will cause certain of the other plungers toactuate their respective levers. i

13. In a vending machine, strip feeding means comprising a positivelydriven roller and a pressure roller, a carriage in which said pressureroller is mounted, means for urging said carriage and its roller towardssaid positively driven roller, latch means adapted to engage and holdthe carriage in retracted position, movable member engaging said latchmeans and adapted to disengage and hold it out of engagement with thecarriage so that the rollers may cooperate in advancing the strip, ashoulder on sa1d member for cooperating witha stationary part of themachine in holding the member inactive position during advancement ofthe strip, checking means for limiting advancement of the strip, anelement engagingsaid' member and said checking means and adapted tosimultaneously adjust said member to active position and the checkingmeans to inactive positlon,

coin controlled active position,

means for actuating said element, means for releasing'the member fromengagement with the stationary part of the machine during advancement ofthe strip, means for restoring said member to inactive position, andmeans for restoring the carriage to its retracted position.

14. In a vending machine, strip feeding means, strip checking means,coin controlled mechanism for adjusting and holding said checking meansin inactive position to permit advancement of the strip, means forlocking said coin controlled mechanismin active position, an orbitallymovable member for tripping said locking means to permit the coincontrolled means to return to inactive position and the checking meansto active position, and rotary means carrying said member and adapted tobe adj ustedforwardly or backwardly to vary the timing of the trippingoperation. V Y

15. In a vending machine, strip feeding means, strip checking means,coin controlled mechanism for adjusting and holding said checking meansin inactive position to permit advancement of the strip, means forlocking said coin controlled mechanism in an orbitally movable memberfor tripping said locking means to permit the coin controlled means toreturn to inactive position and the checking means to active position,rotary means carrying said member and adapted to be adjusted forwardlyor backvvardly to vary the timing of the tripping operation, a rotaryelement having peripheral indicia for cooperating with said member toenable the rotary means to be readily adjusted to the proper point, andcoengaging means whereby the rotary means is driven by said rotaryelement.

16, In a vending machine, strip feeding means, strip checking means,coin controlled mechanism for adjusting and holding said checking meansin inactive position to permit advancement of the strip, means forlocking said coin controlled mechanism in active position, an orbitallymovable member for tripping said locking means to permit the coincontrolled means to return to inactive position and the checking meansto active position, rotary means carrying said member and adapted to beadjusted for- Wardly or backwardly to vary the timing of the trippingoperation, a drum having peripheral indicia for cooperating with saidmember to enable the rotary means to be readily adjusted to the desiredpoint, a driven shaft upon which the rotary means is loosely mounted andsaid drum is fixedly mounted, disconnectable coengaging means throughwhich said drum drives said rotary SAMUEL M. COFFMAN,

